Planetary Groups in Scotland

University of Glasgow

Planetary science research at the University of Glasgow is led by the School of Geographical and Earth Sciences (GES), where the group comprises Lydia Hallis, Luke Daly, Benjamin Cohen, and Martin Lee together with seven PhDs. GES researchers collaborate closely within Glasgow, with the Schools of Physics & Astronomy (Damian McGrouther, Donald MacLaren, Ian MacLaren) and Engineering (Patrick Harkness), and with the nearby Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC). Glasgow is also a key partner in the Scottish Planetary Science Research Network (SPERO: http://spero.ac.uk/).

Glasgow’s expertise includes the geology of Mars and martian meteorites, carbonaceous chondrites, volatiles in the Earth’s mantle, and terrestrial impact structures.​Current research projects include:

University of St. Andrews

Mark Claire, Claire Cousins, Sami Mikhail, Paul Savage and Aubrey Zerkle lead planetary science research at St Andrews, which includes two research officers, seven postdoctoral researchers and five Ph.D. students, as well as many collaborators and co-supervised students based at institutions across the U.K and abroad. Our work is built around the St Andrews Isotope Geochemistry (STAiG) laboratories and Geobiology Laboratories, and is primarily concerned with the formation and exploration of Solar System bodies.

University of Stirling

Planetary Research takes place in the Division of Biological and Environmental Sciences where Axel Hagermann and Christian Schroeder are currently supported by three postdocs, Erika Kaufmann, Nicholas Attree and Alastair Tait. We are part of the Scottish Planetary Science Research Network (SPERO; www.spero.ac.uk). We are interested in thermal properties, planetary ices, as well as the geochemistry and mineralogy of planetary surfaces and meteorites. We are involved in ongoing space missions such as the JAXA Hayabusa 2, NASA Mars InSight or the NASA Mars Exploration Rover missions.

Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre

The Planetary Science Research Group (PSRG) at the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC) is led by Prof. Darren Mark. The SUERC research programme builds on world-class established expertise in isotope geochronology and geochemistry and allows the PSRG to conduct research that permits us to understand the formation and evolution of rocky bodies in our Solar System. Comparative planetology, which allows different natural processes and systems to be studied by their effects and phenomena on and between multiple rocky bodies, underpins our science strategy. The planetary processes in question include geology, hydrology, planetary-scale interactions such as impact cratering, space weathering, and biology/habitability, via astrobiology. Such data underpin the study of the terrestrial planets, moons and rocky bodies whilst having implications for exploration of exoplanets and other solar systems, from a habitability perspective. With respect to planetary exploration the group are developing new technologies that can be deployed on rovers for exploration of rocky bodies (planets, moons, asteroids). As such, the group’s research activities are firmly aligned with the STFC and UKSA science remits.The SUERC developed the Scottish Planetary sciEnce Research netwOrk (SPERO, www.spero.ac.uk) and Prof. Mark leads the research cluster that unites planetary science research across Scotland.

Our current research includes: * Geochronology of the H, L, R and CM chondrites* Geochronology of Martian meteorites (shergottites and nakhlites)* Geochronology of the Moon* Development of planetary exploration tools* Clumpes isotopes in carbonates (e.g., nakhlites and CM chondrites)* Dating of fluid-rock interaction on Mars and primitive asteroids